Steam-pressing electric iron



Dec. 31, 1963 L. HENZIROHS STEAM-PRESSING ELECTRIC IRON Filed Jan. 16, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR Lao Henziro H5 Maw-u; w *M ATTORNEYS Dec. 31, 1963 1.. HENZIROHS STEAM-PRESSING ELECTRIC IRON Filed Jan. 16, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I NVENTOR Leo fi/emzir-ahs 14 TTORIYE )5 ByJ United States Patent O 3,115,718 STEAM-PRESING ELECTRIC IRON Leo Henzirohs, Oberhuchsiten, Soleure, Switzerland,

assignor to lura Elelitroapparate-Fahrilren L.

Henzirohs A.G.

Filed Jan. 16, 1962, Ser. No. 166,524 Claims priority, application Switzerland Jan. 20, 1961 3 Claims. (61. 38-77) This invention relates to steam-pressing electric irons, and in particular to irons in which the water supplied to an evaporation chamber from a water reservoir through a duct drops on a receptacle arranged within the evaporation chamber.

The electric irons with steam-pressing features of the type indicated above, which are known in the art, have already been arranged so that the water dropping on the receptacle of the evaporation chamber was distributed by chute means so as to be completely evaporated in the evaporation chamber, thereby avoiding the steam flowing out of this chamber to carry unevaporated water drops with it.

The known irons have, however, the important drawback that the evaporation of common ize. not distilled and also not softened water caused a calcareous deposit to be formed in the evaporation chamber already in the vicinity of the inlet nozzle mouth, i.e. on the receptacle located immediately below said nozzle. With these known irons it has been observed that the calcareous deposit rapidly grows, when common water is regularly used, and soon reaches the nozzle mouth, thereby obstructing the same and interrupting the water supply to the evaporation chamber. The known electric irons had therefore to be used as yet with distilled or at least softened water, because if they were used with ordinary water they had to be sent to the manufacturer after too short a time period for removing the calcareous deposit therefrom.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide an electric iron of the above mentioned type in which the calcareous deposit formed upon using the iron with ordinary water grows from the parts of the evaporation chamber which are farthest from the inlet nozzle.

To achieve this result the steam iron of this invention is so constructed as to minimize heat transfer between the evaporation chamber and the receptacle which channels water from the valve outlet to the extreme end of the evaporation chamber.

It is also an object of the invention to insert between the receptacle receiving the water supplied to the evaporation chamber and the bottom wall of this chamber means having low thermal conductivity and comprising chute means made of a material having low thermal conductivity.

A further object of the invention is to support the receptacle receiving the water supplied to the evaporation chamber by chute means having only small surface portions in contact with the walls of the evaporation chamber so as to constitute a barrier for the heat be tween said walls and said receptacle, and to leave the latter at a temperature substantially below the boiling temperature of the water.

Still further and more particular objects of the invention will become apparent in the course of the following description.

Three embodiments of the steam-pressing electric iron according to the invention are represented diagrammatically and by way of example in the accompanying drawings in which like numerals designate similar parts.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the first embodiment,

Patented Dec. 31, less the front portion of the iron, except the handle, being partly cut away,

FIG. 2 is a sectional elevation on a larger scale of the front portion of the iron, whereby the handle and the covering cap have been removed,

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the heating sole of this first embodiment,

KG. 4 is a longitudinal section of the sole front portion of an iron according to the second embodiment, and

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of chute means belonging to the third embodiment.

The electric iron represented in the drawings comprises, as usual, a sole 1 which can be heated by means of elements 2 embedded in sole 1 in a manner wellknown to those skilled in the art. A cover plate 3 is secured by means of screws to sole 1, as well as brackets 4, which serve as supporting means for the water reservoir 5. The latter is covered by a cap 6, the lower end of which extends in the immediate vicinity of sole 1. A handle 3 is secured to sole 1 as usual, e.g. by means of bolts '7. The handle ll is provided with a member 9 adapted for controlling a temperature regulator, a switch (not shown), a control member 1% of the valve rod 11, a water-filling opening 12, and a cover 13 slidably arranged on handle to open or shut opening 12.

The water reservoir 5 is connected, on the one hand, to the water-filling opening 12 by means of a branch 14 and, on the other hand, to the evaporation chamber 16 by means of a duct 17.

The duct 17 starting from the reservoir 5, opens into the evaporation chamber 16 at the mouth of a nozzle 15. A coil spring 2t} serving as drop guiding means, is secured at the nozzle end projecting into the evaporation charnber 16. The coil spring 'or drop guide 2% not only serves as guiding means for the water drops flowing out of nozzle 1Z3, but also as means preventing chamber 16 from being supplied with too large a water amount at a time. The water drops into the evaporation chamber 15 from the lower end of the wire constituting spring 21}. The water dropping from spring 20 is received by a receptacle 21a made integral with a chute 21 secured to the bottom wall of chamber 16.

In the first embodiment represented in FIGS. 1-3, the chute 21 is made of a material having low thermal conductivit such as e.g. a chromium alloy. This chute comes in contact with the heated walls of chamber 16 only along its lower end portion which is secured to the bottom wall of the evaporation chamber 16. Chute 21 indeed extends upwards from its lower end portion without coming into contact with the walls of the evaporation chamber. The receptacle 21a, made integral with chute 21, extends immediately below spring 20 to receive the water supplied to chamber 16 by duct 17. As shown in the drawings, chute 21 extends substantially over the Whole length of the evaporation chamber 16. In other words, it is fixed to a portion of the bottom wall of chamber 16, which is farthest from duct 17. As shown in FIG. 3, chamber 16 has an elongated shape and its extends in the direction of the iron axis. Moreover, the water supply is provided in the front portion of chamber 16, while the lower end portion 21b of chute Z1 is fixed to the rear portion of the bottom wall of chamber 16.

With the exception of the rear wall 16:! of the evaporation chamber 16, which extends up to the upper surface of sole 1, the remaining side walls of chamber 16 and in particular the fore ball 16b thereof, are situated entirely below the upper surface of sole 1, so that an annular channel 24 is formed on three sides of chamber 16. Outlet ducts 22 connect the channel 24 to openings, as shown at 23, provided in the lower surface of sole 1, so that the steam formed in chamber 16 is conducted through chan nel 24 and outlets 22 to the lower surface of sole 1.

The water filled in reservoir through opening 12 and branch 14, is supplied drop by drop to the evaporation chamber 16 through duct 17, when the valve rod 11 has been lifted by member W, said water dropping on receptacle 21a from the coil-spring 2i) surrounding the mouth of nozzle 15 and extending below said nozzle mouth. Since the chute 21 is made of a material having low thermal conductivity and since this chute 21 does only come into contact with the walls of chamber 16 through its lower end portions 21b, which is farthest remote from receptacle 21a, the temperature of chute 21 and in particular that of receptacle 21a will remain substantially below the boiling temperature of the water, so that the water supplied to chamber 16 by nozzle 15 will flow downwards along chute 21 and be evaporated in chamber 16 only when it will have reached the bottom wall of chamber 16. The calcareous deposit accompanying the evaporation will accordingly start growing in a portion of chamber 16 which is farthest remote from that to which the water is supplied by nozzle 15 through coil-spring Ztl. The calcareous deposit will accordingly have to fill almost the Whole space of chamber 16, before it will be able to obstruct the water supply to said chamber by coming in contact with the opening of duct 17 supplying chamber 16 with water. The steam-pressing electric iron according to the invention will thus remain in operating condition during a very long period, even if it is regularly used with ordinary water and it will be observed that this valuable result is due, on the one rand, to the water chute 21, which is made of a material having a low thermal conductivity, and, on the other hand, to the fact that this chute is fixed to a wall portion of chamber 16 farthest remote from receptacle 21a. Chute 21 thus constitutes a barrier for the heat, which is inserted between the walls of the evaporation chamber and the receptacle 21a.

The second embodiment represented in FIG. 4 only differs from the first one in the manner in which the chute 21 is constituted and secured within the evaporation chamber 16. The heat-conduction from the walls of chamber 16 to the receptacle 21a is further decreased in this embodiment by the fact that the contacting surfaces between the water chute and the walls of chamber 16 have been substantially reduced with respect to the first embodiment. In the second embodiment the chute 21 is held in the evaporation chamber 16 under the action of its own resiliency. For this purpose, the chute 21 has its fore portion provided with a nose 25, which is pressed on a small bearing surface constituted by a small recess provided in the fore wall 16b of chamber 16 under the yielding action of a tongue 26 projecting from the rear edge of chute 21, this tongue bearing against a portion of the rear wall 160: of chamber 16. The bottom portion of chute 21 is provided with two bores 2111 through which bolts 27 fixed to the bottom wall of chamber 16 extend, when the chute is set in place in chamber 16. To introduce chute 21 into chamber 16 in this second embodiment, the nose need only be located in its recess of wall 16b and the rear portion of chute 21 be pressed into chamber 16. The chute 21 of this second embodiment comes in contact with the Walls of chamber 16 only along very small portions, namely along its nose 25, along a small portion of the free end of tongue 26 and along the small edge portions of its bores being in contact with the outer surfaces of bolts 27, which have a diameter smaller than that of said bores.

The heat of sole 1 will thus be transmitted only in very small amounts to the chute 21, so that the latter will always remain at a temperature substantially below the boiling temperature of the water. For the rest this second embodiment functions like the first one.

Further means to reduce the efiects of the heat conduction from the walls of the evaporation chamber to the receptacle 21a are shown in the third embodiment represented in FIG. 5. In this third embodiment, which differs from the first two embodiments only in the shape and arrangement of its chute means, the latter comprise a piece provided with a triangular cut out forming two chutes Zlc and 21d, running downward from the water receiving portion of said piece. The chutes 21c and 21d are given the form of channels by bending the edge portions of piece 21 surrounding the triangular cutout thereof, upwards, while avoiding any sharp angle for a purpose disclosed hereinafter. The division of the chute means into several narrow channels has as a first consequence that the heat transport from the lower ends of the cute means towards the receptacle receiving the water supplied to the evaporation chamber 16 is reduced, because the crosssectional area of said chute means is itself reduced with respect to those of the chute means represented in the first two embodiments. Furthermore, very narrow chutes have the advantage that the water flowing therealong does not form a film as thin as with a wide chute, so that an evaporation of the water flowing along a narrow chute will not occur as soon as with water flowing along a wide chute. Since the different channels of the chute means represented in FIG. 5 are separated from each other by a rounded edge, the drops falling on the receptacle 21a of the chute means, will each fiow down either along chute 21c or along chute 231d, in accordance with the position in which the iron is held at the moment at which the water drop falls on receptacle 21a. In other words, the drops falling on receptacle 21a will not be divided in flowing down, because the corner separating chutes 21c and 21d from each other is not sharp, but rounded. Under these circumstances, it will be observed that the amount evaporating from the water drops flowing along chutes 210 or 21d would still be negligible, even if a portion of said chutes would have a temperature higher than the boiling point of water. Each drop will thus only reach the boiling temperature and be evaporated, when it will have flown over the bottom wall of cit-an ber 16.

With the arrangement shown in the third embodiment the evaporation area of the evaporation chamber is limited to the rear part thereof in a manner substantially stronger as with the first two embodiments.

Although different embodiments of my invention have been disclosed heretofore in detail, various changes in the shape, sizes and arrangement of parts will still appear obvious to those skilled in the art within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A steam iron comprising a water reservoir, an evaporation chamber spaced from said reservoir, a valve having an opening interconnecting said evaporation chamber and said reservoir, said evaporation chamber having a wall horizontally spaced from said valve, a drop chute downwardly inclined from proximate said valve toward said wall, said drop chute having a point in vertical alignment with said valve opening, and a plurality of discrete narrow channels extending from said point toward said wall.

2. A steam iron as set forth in claim 1 wherein said drop chute is composed of a material having low thermal conductivity.

3. A steam iron as set forth in claim 1 including drop guide means surrounding said valve opening and extending downwardly to a point spaced above said point in vertical alignment with said valve opening.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,557,732 Finlayson June 19, 1951 2,588,747 Morton Mar. 11, 1952 2,655,746 McFarland et al, Oct. 20, 1953 

1. A STEAM IRON COMPRISING A WATER RESERVOIR, AN EVAPORATION CHAMBER SPACED FROM SAID RESERVOIR, A VALVE HAVING AN OPENING INTERCONNECTING SAID EVAPORATION CHAMBER AND SAID RESERVOIR, SAID EVAPORATION CHAMBER HAVING A WALL HORIZONTALLY SPACED FROM SAID VALVE, A DROP CHUTE DOWNWARDLY INCLINED FROM PROXIMATE SAID VALVE TOWARD SAID WALL, SAID DROP CHUTE HAVING A POINT IN VERTICAL ALIGNMENT WITH SAID VALVE OPENING, AND A PLURALITY OF DISCRETE NARROW CHANNELS EXTENDING FROM SAID POINT TOWARD SAID WALL. 